DETROIT RESIDENT INDIFFERENT TO MAYOR KWAME KILPATRICK ARREST

August 7 2008

Detroit, MI – With the arrest of Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the city of Detroit is left in a state of indifference. For many the story of the disgraced mayor is much like the story of the city itself; full of promise, mired in indulgence, left to rot.

Kwame Kilpatrick was once seen as a bright light in the dark city of Detroit. When elected at age 31, he was the youngest Mayor in the history of the city and one of the youngest in the country. As leader of the Democratic caucus in the Michigan House of Representatives, he was the first black leader in the history of the Michigan legislature.

Those heady early days though became plagued by talk of infidelity, conspiracy, and perjury. All that came to a close today as the Mayor was taken into custody for violating the conditions of his bond, by making a trip to Canada.

“I’m really not surprised,” said David Wilson, the one voting resident of the city we were able to find. “Motown left, the car companies ditched us, it’s really not a surprise that the Mayor would do this. I voted for him and I still don’t regret it.”
Wilson spoke to us on Rosa Parks Boulevard, named after the legendary civil rights icon. Amongst the burnt out cars and boarded up store fronts, Wilson waxed philosophical on the state of his city.

“I stayed in Detroit because I believe in the city. Most of my family and friends moved away but this is my home and I plan on staying here. Sure I’m on welfare and maybe I could get a job if I moved, but I plan to stay. Kwame was just doing what Detroit people do. He abandoned the city, but we’re used to being abandoned.”

Officials from the Mayor’s office were unwilling to speak with us, claiming that they were too busy dealing with the fallout from the arrest, as well as cleaning graffiti from the exterior of City Hall. Most of the other residents we tried to speak to were either intoxicated or had no idea who they even had a Mayor.

“This is just one more thing for us, but we’ll get over it. Hell, we got over Madonna didn’t we? We’ll live through this too.”

Scrape News did attempt to contact some of more famous ex-residents from the city—Eminem, Kid Rock, Madonna--but their representatives were indifferent to our requests.